Will an HDMI to VGA connector work?

Question

I have a device that has an HDMI output port. The specification says that I can connect it to a monitor that has an HDMI input port (through HDMI to HDMI cable) or one that has a DVI-D input port. Now, I don't have either. What I have are monitors that have only VGA input ( Actually, the connector port on the monitor reads RGB input, but I am assuming it is a VGA port). So I am thinking of buying a HDMI to VGA cable.

Will such a hack work ?

The device is BeagleBoard.

I can get an HDMI to VGA male cable, but all monitors seem to need female connectors, so if I can get a VGA female to female cable connect it to my HDMI to VGA male cable, will this work too ?

Solution 1

This tend to be the general consensus on forums:

It won't work. VGA to DVI is possible, because there are two kinds of DVI signals:

• DVI-I, which has both analog and digital output, and
• DVI-A which has only the analog output

So if you hook in the VGA → DVI cable, the signal will be analog on the DVI-end of the cable. Since HDMI is digital, it doesn't support analog signals.

But there are signal converters that can convert digital to analog RGB, but they cost like 300$ at least. So you'll need a HDMI to DVI cable and a signal converter similar to this.

Solution 2

No, it shouldn't work. HDMI ports on video cards emit digital signals, VGA ports on monitors expect analogue signals.

Cables with HDMI connector at one end and VGA at the other may be designed for video cards that have a VGA connector but which can be made to output HDMI digital signals through that connector. In other words, the other way around from what you want.

Solution 3

There are plenty of adapters available. A simple cable won't work, but the adapters will actively convert the signal into a different signal that will match what your monitors are expecting.

Comments

[Admin]

You only have monitors that have VGA inputs? Time to upgrade your monitor.

[Admin]

@MBraedley If it ain't broke, it can still be useful.

[Ben Voigt]

Finding a USB adapter with drivers that work on a BeagleBoard (TI OMAP processor, ARM architecture, OS not mentioned but not desktop Windows) might be difficult.

[vinnief]

The required HDMI-male to VGA-female converters are now available, e.g. on dx.com, at around 8 US$.

[Kulasangar]

So if i'm getting a VGA → DVI cable, will that be taken as a digital output in my desktop monitor ?

[fixer1234]

This answer describes going in the opposite direction of what was asked in the question. Also, HDMI to DVI won't let you use a $3 adapter at the end to convert DVI to VGA. Those only work with DVI-I or A, neither of which would get an analog signal from the HDMI.

[fixer1234]

Your answer is partly correct. Digital to analog conversion results in a poorer signal, but that doesn't mean it's simple and cheap to do. You still need active electronics to convert a digital signal to an analog one; the loss of quality doesn't make it cheaper. You can get such converters, but they won't be the $3 passive adapters described in the accepted answer. Your point about HDMI being capable of also carrying audio is correct, but the output to a monitor typically doesn't contain a needed audio output.